Portable car cooler



Nov. 5, 1935. w. c. PHILLIPS PORTABLE CAR COOLER Filed 061;. 17, 1931 3 Sheets-Sheet l w rqmu m5 m w fw f z .w Z W4 mm Patented Nov. 5, 1935 v PATENT OFFICE ron'mnm can cooum Walter-O. Phillips, San Francisco, Calif., assignor to .Piiillips Refrigeration Products, Inn, San Francisco, Calif., a corporation of Galifornin Application octum- 17, 1931, Serial No. 569,479

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My invention relates to means for controlling the temperature in transports such as refrigerator cars and is particularly designed to facilitate and accelerate the process of cooling. 1 1

It is in general, the'present practice in refrigerator cars to construct the cars with one or more compartments for containing a refrigerant, usually ice, and to load the cars with fruits or produce in the presence of the ice in order to maintain the car temperature at a low enough point to preserve the contents thereof. The cooling oi such cars to reduce the temperature from normal atmospheric temperature to a suiilciently low value is at present a relatively slow process, depending primarily upon natural-circulation of air contacting at one point in its cycle with a refrigerant.

It is an object of my inventlonto provide means for accelerating the cooling of a refrigerator car or other similar container.

Another object of my invention is to provide means-tor forcibly circulating air within such a,

car.

Another object of my invention is to provide a device which can be mounted in any one of various different sized refrigerator cars,'in order to iorce a circulation oi air therein.

The foregoing and other objects are attained in the embodiment of the invention shown in the drawings, in which i i Figure l is a transverse section of the upper portion of a typical refrigerator oar, portions be= ing broken away" to reduce the size of the figure and showing installed therein a car cooler in accordance with my invention.

Figure 2 is a cross section, the plane of which is indicated by the lines 2-2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a cross section, the plane of which is indicated by the lines 3-8 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is an elevation of a clamping device for use on. the end plate of my device, a portion of the handle being in section to increase the clarity of the disclosure.

In its preferred form, the car cooler of my inand is susceptible to variations in structure in accordance with the environment in which it is used, it finds a held of usefulness in connection with a refrigerator carsuch as is shownin the drawings and which includes a pair of walls I and 5v 8 extending from the floor t of the car to the ceiling ii thereof. It is customary for such a, car

to be divided into at least two diiferent compartments l2 and it which are separated by a bulk-=- head id extending nearly to the floor d but slight- 10 hr spaced therefrom to permit the ilowoi' air between the compartments l2 and it under the bulkhead it and likewise spaced from the ceiling l l to provide an opening it through which air can circulate between the compartments it and it is above the bulkhead iii.

In difierent refrigerator cars, the distance between the side walls l and d varies considerably as does the size of the opening it between the top of the bulkhead it and the ceiling it. It is usual go for the compartment it to be equipped to receive blocks oi. ice i! or any other suitable refrigerant and for the compartments it to receive produce or other perishable material, disclosed in Figure i as being contained in a plurality of boxes i8. 5

In order to provide a closure which will effectively seal the opening between the bulkhead i l and the ceiling ii in order to provide a confined path for air flowing between the compartments i2 and it, I preferably chord a pair of end plates 30 it and. 22 which are similar and each of which is preferably constructed of a sheet is of metal or other suitable material provided adjacent its upper edge with any suitable sealing means 26, and adjacent its upper lateral edge is provided with a spike is or a similar element adapted to engage with the material of the well i in order to assist in holding the plate ii in place.

The bottom of the plate ii is preferably supported on a strip 2? or batten conveniently fabri- 'catod of wood and provided with a protective sheathing of metal 28. The batten or strip 2"! is held in place by one or more hooked bolts 29 passing through suitable bores in the strip 2i and provided with wing nuts ti in order to adjust the position of the strip with respect to the upper edge of the bulkhead it over which a hook-t2 at the opposite extremity of the bolt N is engaged. By suitably positioning the wing nuts iii the 50 height of the strip 2? with regard to its distance from the ceiling ii and from the upper edge of the bulkhead it can readily be adjusted. To facilitate its engagement with the strip ii the lower end of the plate it is provided with. an M angular. extension 33 which conforms in contour with the surface of the strip 21.

In mounting the plates 2| and 22 their lower edges or extensions 33 are positioned over the previously mounted and adjusted strip 21 and the spikes 28 are thrust into the material of the side walls I and 8 with the upper edge 24 in tight engagement with the ceiling of the car.

To complete the closure of the space between the bulkhead and the ceiling remaining after the two plates 2| and 22 have been positioned, I provide a center plate 36 which is preferably constructed of metal or another suitable material and is in many respects similar to the end plates 2| and 22. The center plate 33 is provided along its lower edge with an angular extension 31 adapted to interengage with the strip 21 and to be supported thereon, while along its upper edge, it is provided with a packing strip 33 intended to abut the ceiling H of the car. Since the distance between the side walls I and 8 in various cars varies considerably, the center plate 36 is cona in any adjusted position by means of one or more toggle-mechanisms 42, which are provided with spikes 43 designed to penetrate the material of the ceiling II in any adjusted position of the center plate. The spikes 43 project from a block 44 having projecting bolts 48 slidable in slots 45 in a channel frame 33 secured to the center plate 36. The block is actuated by movement of a toggle lever 41, one end of which is fastened to the block 44 by one of the bolts and to which is fastened a pair of links 49 by a pivotal connection 5|. The other end of the links is connected to a relatively stationary block 32 adjustably confined as shown in Figure 3. the spikes 43 are projected into engagement with the ceiling H in order to hold the center plates 38 in position.

Formed as part of the central plate 33 is a conduit 53 which bounds a central aperture in the plate and which is extended to -a circular reinforcing collar U to which a cylindrical shell 53 is secured by any suitable means. A bracket 83 mounted on the shell 33, serves as a support for an electric motor 6| or any other suitable driving means for a fan 62 which is designed to effect a flow of air through the aperture in the central plate 38 and from one compartment |2 to another compartment i3, or in the opposite direction. In order to make the fan reversible so that the flow of air can be altered in direction as desired, the shell 58 is likewise provided with a ring 63 comparable to the ring 51 and designed to be secured thereto by the same fastening means. By virtue of this expedient, the manner of positioning the central shell 33 on the extension! governs the direction of air flow between the compartments i2 and i3.

It is usually desirable to provide means for preventing the passage of large particles of debris and similar matter, and for that reason I preferably am: to the shell 33 an additional frame 34 which is of annular form and over the open end of which is positioned a screen-88 or other suitable filter.

When the cooling of the interior of a car of the refrigerator type is to be accelerated and care- 5 contour and relationship of the bulkhead in the 1 7 car, the end plates 2| and 22 are placed in position and are held by the spikes 23; the center plate 36 is then mounted in juxtaposition and the toggle handles I! are operated to secure the central plate in position to complete the closure of 5 the opening between the compartments l2 and IL The motor shell 53 is then mounted in position in accordance with the direction of desired air flow and subsequently, the screen frame 84 is fastened in place. When electric current is furg nished to the motorv 3| the fan 32 rotates effecting a forced circulation of air from the compartment i2 through the fan itself and through the aperture in the center plate 36 and over-the refrigerant such as ice H in compartment II, the air cir- 25 cult being completed by flow beneath the bulkhead I! back to the compartment II. If, however, the direction of fan rotation should be reversed, air is drawn from the compartment |2 beneath the bulkhead I over the refrigerant ll 30 and is expelled through the aperture in the center plate 30 and is directed outwardly through the screen 66 into the compartment |2 for recirculation.

By use of the car cooler of my invention it is 35 feasible to control the temperature, of a refrigerator car very exactly and to reduce materially the time required to lower the temperature from its atmospheric value to the desired degree for the storage of perishable goods in the car. The 40 cooler, after serving its purpose in reducing the temperature of the car can very quickly be detached and can as quickly be set up again in another car even though the second car is of different sire and of different relationship of partsl Itisfobeunderstoodthat Idonotlimitmyself to the form of the car cooler shown and described herein, as the invention, as set forth in the following claims may be embodied in a plurality of forms.

I claim:

1. An air circulator for use in a car having a bulkhead bounding an opening between different compartments in said car comprising a closure having an aperture therein and adapted to over- 5;; lie said opening, a support for said closure adjacentsaid bulkhead, a circulating fan mounted on said closure for circulating air through said aperture, and means for wedging said closure between said support and the ceiling of said car.

2. An air circulator for use in a car having a bulkhead comprising a supporting strip, means for adjustably supporting said strip against said bulkhead, a closure having an aperture therein resting on said strip, and means on said closure 55 for eil'ecting a flow of airthrough said aperture.

3. An air circulator for use in a car having walls,

a ceiling, and a bulkhead extending between said walls and spaced from said ceiling to provide an opening, comprising a supporting strip. means for 70 adjustably supporting said strip on said bulkhead, a pair of end plates each adapted to rest on said strip and to abut one of said walls and said celling to seal aportion of said opening, a center plate adapted to rest on said strip and engage said 15 ceiling and to overlap said end plates seal the reminder of said opening, and means mounted on'said center plate for effecting a. flow oi. airfrom one side of said bulkhead to the other side thereof. l

s. An air circulstor for use in a. car having a bulkhead bounding an opening between diflerent compartments in said car comprising a. closure having an aperture therein and adapted to overlie said opening, means on said closure for efiecting a flow of air through said aperture, means for supporting said closure at any selected inclination, and means on said closure and w :ipted releasably to engage ssid car for 1101 said closure at any selected inclination.

5. An sir circulstor tor use in s cs1- bulkhead, comprising a strip transversely spanning said car, means ior supporting said-strip adjacent said bulkhead, a closure demountably supported on said strip, said closure having an aperture therein, and means on said closure for eflecting a flow oi air through said aperture.

6. An air circulator for use with a refrigerator car having a refrigerant compartment and a load compartment, comprising a, support transversely spanning said our adjacent the junction of suid compartments, a closure incorporating an air circulator resting'on but removable from said support, and means engaging said our for maintaining said closure in as selected position upon said support. 

